Halras Brushwarder
Halras Brushwarder, Ras to his friends, is an extremely confident halfling with an unusual purple skintone who travels always with his faithful gorilla companion Korog. Halras was born into a small tribe of ghostwise halflings in the eastern reaches of the Forest of Amtar. His tribe, led by their elder Falbin the Wise, chose to live in this harsh, jungle-like forest to rid themselves of the corruption found in the more civilized lands. Every member of the tribe was expected to prove their worth and add to the overall success of the group. In his early years, Halras was trained by his parents to be a hunter, so he learned to track quarry, live off the land, etc. He was especially adept at taking down the massive lizards that stalked the Amtar. Halras would be away from his village for sometimes weeks at a time, so he became adept and living off the land and dealing with solitude. However, his days of quiet contemplation under the impenetrable forest canopy came to an end when he met Korog. He was tracking an Orcish scout through the forest when he heard a terrific roaring sound. When he investigated, he saw a gorilla entangled by an assassin vine. The poor creature had suffered horrific wounds and was on the brink of death. Acting quickly, Halras lit a torch and put it to the assassin vine. It withdrew quickly, dropping the gorilla on the ground. For a long moment, Halras considered slitting its throat to put it out of its misery, but then it looked up at him with its brown eyes full of pain and terror. He decided to bind the beast's wounds and watch over it as it healed. After several days, the gorilla was moving on its own, and Halras bid it farewell with a small salute, but the gorilla followed him. At first, Halras threw rocks at the gorilla to keep him away, but the creature persisted. He gave up and let the gorilla follow him for a few days. As he hunted, he saw the gorilla mimicking his movements as he crouched in the bushes to watch game. Eventually, the gorilla joined him in battle and proved a stalwart ally. The other halflings of his village cheered his skill in charming such a beast, and Elder Falbin saw it as a boon from the goddess Yondalla herself. The years passed in the Amtar and the Brushwarder tribe flourished despite the hardships of the land. Halras and Korog became the greatest hunters of the tribe, and they even became well known to the nearby wild elves for the quarry they brought down. Eventually, the time of the Rekindling came about. This was an ancient tradition in the Brushwarder tribe that took place when the elder died. Upon his death, the strongest soul from within the tribe would step forward and offer themselves up as a vessel. The druids of the tribe would then complete a ritual to tether the soul of Falbin into the fresh body. However, for the first time in the tribe's oral tradition, the ritual failed. Elder Falbin's soul did not return, and the tribe found itself thrown into chaos. While the druids bickered and read the omens, Halras heard from a stranded merchant that this was a common occurrence across the lands. Halras immediately set out with Korog to deal with the threat. After inquiring several places, he found himself hired as a guide by Syndra Silvane, due to his homeland resembling the lands of Chult somewhat